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Tabac by La Via del Profumo

First things first, the winner of the Mecca Balsam giveaway is Chasa! Congrats!

This review comes on the heels of my recent La Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam review. If you read it, you’ll know that I am not the only one who is smitten with its labdanum laden redolence. Most every blogger who has written about it has sung its praises. Tabac is from the same perfume house, a natural indie-perfumery in Italy, and is just as accolade worthy as Mecca Balsam.

Mecca Balsam is all about labdanum with undertones of tobacco. Tabac is the reverse. It’s tobacco-filled with undertones of labdanum. Labdanum’s mossy warmth emerges from within the tobacco in the opening. It grounds the experience with an earthy floral tone, setting the stage for a soft and soothing tobacco experience. Vanilla and tonka are also responsible for Tabac’s soft edges giving a subtly sweet pipe tobacco impression.

I did a side by side comparison of another gorgeous tobbaco scent, Alaya Moriel Parfums Espionage. I adore Espionage and any other tobacco scent needs to stand up to its beauty. Tabac certainly does, but they are different. Espionage is a drier, more intense tobacco fragrance that exudes bold topnotes, only to be quieted somewhat by elegant florals in the drydown. Tabac on the other hand is a more diffuse tobacco, possessing an immediate subdued quality. They are both full and beautiful with Espionage having a sharp, clear tobacco articulation and Tabac being more tempered, almost downy. So yes, it it entirely justifiable having both in one’s perfume collection, just in case you were wondering.

Hi~ I’ve heard about these scents and would love to try them, but, this company not only uses but sells real animal essences/extracts such as deer musk (requires death of deer), civet (cruelty), castoreum (requires death of beaver), etc.

I can’t feel good about buying from them no matter how good the fragrances smell. They never responded to my email inquiring about whether they would consider abandoning real animal substances as Le Labo did.

Dear Issy,
I wrote to the owner of La Via del Profumo, and this is what he wrote back:

“There are no animal scents in Mecca Balsam but I do use Ambergris, civet and Castoreum in several of my fragrances. When this is the case it is written in the text that explains the perfume at the product page.”

Thanks for you comment Issy :-) It’s helpful for those who want to refrain from having animal ingredients in their perfumes.

Thank you for following up on this! I understand that they do not use animal ingredients in this perfume, and probably many others ~ I just can’t feel good about supporting a business that traffics in products that involve cruelty and death, for the sake of the ‘art’ of traditional perfume and the nostalgia for ‘real’ ingredients. But, that’s just me. :-)